JAZZ REVIEW: JAN GARBAREK BIOGRAPHY

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JAN GARBAREK BIOGRAPHY

Jan Garbarek (born March 4, 1947 in Mysen, Norway) a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war Czeslaw Garbarek and a Norwegian farmer's daughter. Effectively stateless till the age of seven (there is no automatic grant of citizenship in Norway) Garbarek grew up in Oslo. At 21, he married Vigdis. His daughter Anja Garbarek is also a musician. He has also played the bass saxophone.

Garbarek's sound is one of the hallmarks of the ECM record label, which has released virtually all of his recordings. His style incorporates a sharp-edged tone, long, keening, sustained notes strongly reminiscent of Islamic prayer calls, and generous use of silence. He began his recording career in the late 1960s, notably featuring on recordings by the American jazz composer George Russell (such as Othello Ballet Suite and Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature). If he had initially appeared as a devotee of Albert Ayler and Peter Brötzmann, by 1973 he had turned his back on the harsh dissonances of avant-garde jazz, retaining only his tone from his previous approach.

As a composer, Garbarek tends to draw heavily from Scandinavian folk melodies, a legacy of his Ayler influence. He is also a pioneer of ambient jazz composition, most notably on his 1976 album Dis. This textural approach, which rejects traditional notions of thematic improvisation (best exemplified by Sonny Rollins) in favour of a style described by critics Richard Cook and Brian Morton as "sculptural in its impact", has been critically divisive. Garbarek's more meandering recordings are often labeled as New Age music, a style generally scorned by more orthodox jazz musicians and listeners, or spiritual ancestors thereof. Other experiments have included setting a collection of poems of Olav H. Hauge to music, with a single saxophone complementing a full mixed choir; this has led to notable performances with Grex Vocalis, but not yet to recordings.

After recording a string of unheralded avant-garde albums, Garbarek rose to international prominence in the mid-1970s playing post-bop jazz, both as a member of and a leader of Keith Jarrett's successful "European Quartet". He achieved considerable commercial success in Europe with Dis, a meditative collaboration with guitarist Ralph Towner that featured the distinctive sound of a wind harp on several tracks. (Selections from Dis have been used as incidental music in several feature films and documentaries.) In the 1980s, Garbarek's music began to incorporate synthesizers and elements of world music. In 1993, during the Gregorian chant craze, his album Officium, a collaboration with early music vocal performers the Hilliard Ensemble, became one of ECM's biggest-selling albums of all time, reaching the pop charts in several European countries. (Its sequel, Mnemosyne, followed in 1999.) In 2005, his album In Praise of Dreams was nominated for a Grammy. He has composed music for the film Kippur.

In addition to the selections from Dis, Garbarek has also composed music for several other European films, including French and Norwegian films. Also his song "Rites" was used in the American film The Insider.

Major collaborators

Notable recordings

Jazz Moments (1966) with Karin Krog
Til Vigdis (1967)
Joy (1968) with Karin Krog
Esoteric Circle (1969)
Afric Pepperbird (1970)
Trip to Pillargui (1970) with George Russell Sextet
Listen to the Silence (1971) with George Russell
Terje Rypdal (1971) with Terje Rypdal
Sart (1971) with Terje Rypdal
Hav (1971) with Jan Erik Vold and Terje Rypdal
Triptykon (1972)
Witchi-Tai-To (1973)
Red Lanta (1973) with Art Lande
Belonging (1974) with Keith Jarrett
Luminessence (1974) with Keith Jarrett
Solstice (1974) with Ralph Towner

Dansere (1975) with Bobo Stenson Quartet
Arbour Zena (1975) with Keith Jarrett
Dis (1976) with Ralph Towner
Places (1977)
Of Mist And Melting (1977) with Bill Connors
December Poems (1977) med Gary Peacock
Deer Wan (1977) with Kenny Wheeler
Sol Do Meio Dia (1977) with Egberto Gismonti
Sound And Shadows (1977) with Ralph Towner
My Song (1977) with Keith Jarrett
Photo With Blue Sky, White Cloud, Wires, Windows and a Red Roof (1978)with Bill Connors
Personal Mountains (1979) with Keith Jarrett
Folk Songs (1979) with Egberto Gismonti and Charlie Haden
Magico (1979) with Egberto Gismonti and Charlie Haden
Aftenland (1979) with Kjell Johnsen
Nude Ants (1979) with Keith Jarrett
Eventyr (1980)
Paths, Prints (1981) with Bill Frisell
Voice from the Past Paradigm (1981) with Gary Peacock
Cycles (1981) with David Darling
Wayfarer (1983) with Bill Frisell and Eberhard Weber
Vision (1983) with L. Shankar
It's OK To Listen To The Gray Voice (1984)
Chorus (1984) with Eberhard Weber
Song For Everyone (1984) with L. Shankar
All Those Born With Wings (1986)
Making Music (1986) with Zakir Hussain
Guamba (1987) med Gary Peacock
Legend Of The Seven Dreams (1988)
Rosensfole (1989) with Agnes Buen Garnås
Living Magic (1990) with Trilok Gurtu
I Took Up The Runes (1990)
StAR (1991) with Miroslav Vitous
Alpstein (1991) with Paul Giger
Music For Films (1991) with Eleni Karaindrou
Ragas and Sagas (1992) with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Twelve Moons (1992)
Atmos (1993) with Miroslav Vitous
Madar (1993) with Anouar Brahem and Shaukat Hussain
Officium (1994) with the Hilliard Ensemble
Visible World (1995)
Caris Mere (1995) with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
Rites (1998)
Mnemosyne (1999) with the Hilliard Ensemble
Monodia (2002) with Kim Kashkashian
Universal Syncopations (2003) with Miroslav Vitous
In Praise of Dreams (2003)
Neighbourhood (2006) with Manu Katché
Stages Of A Long Journey (2007) with Eberhard Weber
Elixir (2007) with Marilyn Mazur